StuWilli, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Abstracts in Urgent Care – November 2017

Brain Study Suggests a Link Between CTE and Football—Even Among Youths Key point: A high proportion of deceased players of American football showed pathological evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, suggesting that CTE may be related to prior participation in football. Citation: Mez J, Daneshvar DH, Kiernan PT, et al. Clinicopathological evaluation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in players of American football. JAMA. 2017;318(4):360–370. This widely referenced JAMA study presents a convenience sample of 202 deceased players of …

Disaster Strikes—What’s the Plan for Your Urgent Care Center?

Urgent message: Urgent care centers exist to help people who need to see a healthcare professional today. When that need coincides with a natural or manmade disaster, every location must have a plan of action to ensure any downtime is minimal, staff needs are met, and the business is able to survive. Introduction No region of the country—for that matter, no state, town, neighborhood, or block—is immune from disabling disasters. Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, forest fires, …

Regulatory Creep: An Urgent Care Response

Connecticut Democrats Seek Regulations for Urgent Care Centers. When this alert hit my inbox, I must say it was a bit alarming. Whenever I see “urgent care” and “regulations” in the news it’s unsettling to say the least. I am probably not alone. The regulatory rumblings have come and gone before, but this one has me more concerned. Here’s a little background: Connecticut legislators and the state Department of Public Health (CDPH) have been interested …

Concentra, U.S. HealthWorks Join Forces in an Urgent Care/Occ Med Megadeal

Two major players in urgent care and occupational medicine are being joined together by their respective ownerships. Select Medical Holdings Corporation and Dignity Health have agreed on a definitive agreement to combine Concentra Group Holdings, LLC, an occupational medicine and urgent care service provider, with U.S. HealthWorks, Inc., which offers services in the same sectors. There is some geographical overlap, such as in the Milwaukee and Nashville markets, but locations are more complementary than they …

CDC: Offering a Flu Shot Moves More Pregnant Women to Get One

Despite the fact that pregnant women and infants are increased risk for severe, influenza-related illness, nearly half of women approaching childbirth fail to get a flu shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, in a recently published study, the CDC also found that simply offering to give a pregnant woman a flu shot increased the rate of coverage from 56% to around 70%. The report is careful to distinguish making a …

CDC Offers Guidance on Treating Patients Returning Home from Hurricane Areas

Urgent care centers in hurricane-affected areas have probably gotten into the habit of looking for sudden respiratory ailments and signs of illness related to consumption of tainted water or food. However, the vast numbers of relief workers and volunteers who flocked to help residents affected by the recent storms are now returning home, where providers may not have such issues at the top of their minds. Recognizing that, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

Another Arrest for Practicing without a License

The ink is barely dry on the arrest warrant for a Florida man accused of practicing medicine without a license, but now another similar story has popped up in New Jersey. Unlike the Florida case, the accused was not the proprietor of the urgent care center where he worked but an employee. Law enforcement officials say he’s actually a former physician whose medical license was suspended in 2003 for aggravated drug possession. Authorities are confident …

Point-of-Care Lyme Test Could Reduce Referrals Out of Urgent Care

It’s common for patients complaining of fatigue, fever, stiff joints, and overall body aches and malaise to seek treatment in an urgent care center. Depending on the season and what examination reveals—a telltale bullseye rash, for example—the clinician might suspect Lyme disease and be inclined to suggest the patient see another provider for testing and treatment. Even if they’re able to test on site, the patient would have to wait several days for the results …

An Update on MIPS Readiness

If you read this newsletter and JUCM, you know the Merit-based Incentive Payment Systems (MIPS) offers a few options in an attempt to encourage participation and allow providers, essentially, to customize their participation to suit their practice. That includes when they start participating, within some limits. And if you read any news sources at all, you know there are more than a few wrinkles in the rollout. With that in mind, here are a few …

Nonemergent Trips to the ED Cost Tennessee Medicaid Nearly $88 Million This Year

Despite efforts to teach patients when they really need to go to the emergency room vs the urgent care center or other settings, TennCare reports that its members have continued to head straight to the ED for relatively minor complaints—to the tune of $87.9 million in fiscal year 2017. That’s an increase of $3 million over the previous year. Claims data released by the state show too many use the less convenient, costlier ED for …